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non-magnetic mechanical stylus force gauge

Hi,
Need to get myself the stylus force gauge and after reading what other people say decided to buy the simple Shure SFG-2 but then realized from one of the reviews on Amazon (as well as here) that it is still a magnetic one? Just curious - if Sure does know that this feature can cause problems why they wouldn't fix it or is there already another one from them which is non-magnetic? I looked at Ortofon as well but that one seems a little too simplistic with only limited number of scale grades. Since I have some MC carts the magnetism I guess can cause a problem, just wondering if this is correct? Appreciate the feedback.
Thank you
Anatoliy
avs9
stanwal's avatar
stanwal
3,147 posts
 
I have MC cartridges and use a Shure guage from time to time. I have never heard of it being magnetic and I have been using one for over 30 years. I think you are misinformed. Just because a gauge is metal does not mean it is magnetic.
tobes's avatar
tobes
436 posts
 
Why do you want a mechanical gauge? - you can get an electronic scale with .01g precision for about the same price.
Easier to use than the Shure too (which I also own).
avs9 OP
72 posts
 
To Stanwal - saw one review here about the magnetic

http://www.amazon.com/Shure-SFG-2-Stylus-Tracking-Force/product-reviews/B00006I5SD/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

On Audiogon some indicated that old ones were magnetic too

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1245348270&openflup&1&4#1

But on the good side I got a response an hour ago from Shure where they said the device is NOT magnetic.

Just looking for the simple mechanical one so that I don't care about batteries. I can't say if this is only me but in my case they fail always when you need them most :)

Thanks and Best Regards
Anatoliy
avs9 OP
72 posts
 
Actually what Shure said was

"It could haven when the SFG is too close to a magnet for a while."

I didn't go into discussion with them over this one but IMHO if the metal (of other material) is NOT magnetic how can a close magnet influence? Does it make sense?
avs9 OP
72 posts
 
This is the official answer from Shure if interested

http://shure.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3200/kw/sfg-2/session/L3RpbWUvMTMyMzc4MjI4Ny9zaWQvNlBVQWh1TGs%3D

Copy / paste:
Q:Can the SFG-2 be used with moving coil cartridges, or only with moving magnet cartridges?
A:We only speak for Shure cartridges - all are moving magnet and work well with the SFG-2.

Q:It is my understanding that the magnets in moving coil cartridges are powerful enough to attract the stainless steel balance beam of the SFG-2 and produce incorrect readings.
A:This is feasible, though we have never tested the theory. Most phono cartridges use Mumetal for the cartridge body; MuMetal acts as a magnetic shield, thus shielding the internal mechanism from outside magnetic influence and vice versa.
FYI - Stainless steel has no, or very slight, magnetic properties.
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